Yay, another Kusmi sample from Cameron B.! Thank you! I love Kusmi but have never really dug into their catalog.
So, I needed something powerful this morning and the dense, tiny leaves of this tea promised to pick me up. They’re nearly black and smell lovely, fruity in a way I can’t really place, but also bright with bergamot. Of course it brews up very dark and makes me question my three and a half minute steep time. That’s something Young Tabby would have never said… Adagio had taught her black teas need five minutes. Five minutes! WTF?!
Anyway, once steeped, this smells very sweet. Like dessert. The flavor reminds me of a raspberry earl grey, with notes of caramel and vanilla. Mmmm, this is lovely. Just the thing I needed today. The black tea base is smooth and malty with surprisingly little bitterness considering the way it looks. This is a real pleasure – a combination of so many flavors I love. Glad I have a little more left!
Flavors: Bergamot, Caramel, Fruity, Raspberry, Sweet, Vanilla
Preparation
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I was always taught that about blacks when I first started with tea too, and now I can’t stand the thought! 5 minutes?! No wonder I always found black tea so harsh, bitter, and overly astringent… my enjoyment of blacks is so much more now that I’m using less leaf and shorter steep times than I’d always been recommended by the typical “packaging instructions”
I find French flavored black teas can usually take a 4-minute steep. ❤
I was always taught that about blacks when I first started with tea too, and now I can’t stand the thought! 5 minutes?! No wonder I always found black tea so harsh, bitter, and overly astringent… my enjoyment of blacks is so much more now that I’m using less leaf and shorter steep times than I’d always been recommended by the typical “packaging instructions”
I find French flavored black teas can usually take a 4-minute steep. ❤